Public schools in Ghana to close down if...

Europa

July 20, 2016 11:06 PM

Addressing journalists in Accra today [Wednesday], President of CHASS, Cecilia Kwakye Coffie, called on the Minister of Education and the Ghana Education Service to address their concerns immediately.

Minister of Education, Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyeman

The Conference of Heads of Assisted Secondary Schools (CHASS) has threatened to close down Senior High Schools (SHS) nationwide for the 2016/2017 academic year if government fails to pay subsidies owed schools across the country.

According to CHASS, it is finding it difficult to manage the SHSs across the country due to the lack of subsidies.

"Some of the pressing challenges are unpaid absorbed fees and feeding grants, unpaid Ghana government scholarships, unpaid progressively free scholarship, inadequate feeding fees of GHC 3.30 per student per day for 3 meals, high electricity, water and telephone bills, high expenditure on sanitation and fumigation due to bed bugs infestation in schools, non-payment of GOG grant for administration since 2011, and no replacement of retired teaching and non-teaching staff," she said.

She said that “the absorbed fees for 2nd and 3rd term for 2015/2016 academic year have not been paid. The feeding grants for the three (3) Northern Region schools, Northern Volta and Northern Brong Ahafo are also for 2nd and 3rd term, and this has brought serious problems to schools as students are fed on credit and heads of institutions are being harassed by their creditors”.

“The progressively free scholarship for 2nd and 3rd terms of the 2015/2016 academic year has not been paid. The Ghana government scholarship to beneficiary students has not been paid for the whole year i.e. 2015/2016 academic year”.

“The feeding fee of GHC 3.30 per student per day for 3 meals is woefully inadequate. There is a tax component of 17.5% vat and 3% withholding tax. This has resulted in huge debts in schools. The feeding fee should be increased since price of goods and service have gone up drastically since 2014 when the fees were fixed e.g. the price of gari has shot up from GHC 2.40 to GHC 10.00 per American tin (olonka)," she added.

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